KAMPALA: Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye refused to accept the lawyers being forced upon him for his treason trial on Wednesday after his chosen advocates were arrested or barred from the country.
Besigye, 70, a long-time rival of President Yoweri Museveni, has been in jail since late 2024 when he was kidnapped in Kenya and smuggled back to Uganda.
Last month, his main lawyer, former Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago, was seized by the army and thrown in jail, while his other lead lawyer, Kenya’s Martha Karua, was barred from entering the country.
When his treason trial began on Monday, the court said he had to choose from a list of state-approved lawyers, but Besigye has refused.
“The legal team we had is one in whose competence we placed full confidence,” he told the court on Wednesday.
